@: Method 1 seems to be good. I thought about integrating XL files to this for defining character upgrades, attacks, weapon levels etc. 
By the way is a barrack building i just made. No textures though. 
It will be great if someone can texture this. You can download max model from .
Imgur: The magic of the Internet.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet.
Different Stages of Construction: